My dad wants to join the Crypto-world. Can you make an ELI5, about what Ark is?

So currently all these blockchains are separated, just like computers used to be a long time ago before the internet. If we want to exchange a bitcoin for 40 litecoins, we need a trusted intermediate to accomodate the transaction outside of a blockchain. This leaves a security risk, which we observe often as exchanges (the intermediate) get hacked all the time. A decentralized exchange solves this problem, which can be build using Ark, but also competitors such as blocknet.

With the invention of Ethereum, smart contracts were brought to the crypto world. In my opinion smart contacts add the true value to crypto currencies. Using Ark we are not only able to exchange coins, but also use smart contracts to interact with multiple blockchains, forming the protocol for the internet of the blockchains. That is where I think are will outshine its competitors.

Why does VMWare have any value? It bridges operating systems to work together in ways it normally wouldn't. Lots of software built natively cannot be ported to other OS's easily. Ark will essentially be the connector of blockchains that natively cannot speak to each other.

The value of the token comes from you having to pay fees. So for example executing an ethereum contract costs an Ark fee as well. Right now these fees are set at a constant value, but later they might become dynamic, meaning that they scale as the price of Ark increases.